Hanako Muraoka facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Hanako Muraoka
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| 村岡花子 | |
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| Born |
Annaka Hana
June 21, 1893 |
| Died | October 25, 1968 Ōta, Tokyo, Japan
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| Nationality | Japanese |
| Occupation | Novelist, translator |
Hanako Muraoka (村岡花子, June 21, 1893 – October 25, 1968) was a famous Japanese writer and translator. She is best known for translating the beloved book Anne of Green Gables into Japanese. This book, written by L.M. Montgomery, became very popular in Japan thanks to Muraoka's work.
Contents
Hanako Muraoka's Early Life and School
Hanako Muraoka was born on June 21, 1893. Her birth name was Hana Annaka. She was born in Kofu, which is in Yamanashi Prefecture, Japan. Her parents were Methodists, so she grew up as a Christian.
She went to school at the Toyo Eiwa Jogakuin in Tokyo. While she was there, a translator named Hiroko Katayama encouraged her to write. Hanako started writing stories for children. She finished school in 1913.
Hanako Muraoka's Career and Family
After finishing school, Muraoka went back to Yamanashi. She taught at a branch of the Toyo Eiwa Jogakuin there. In 1917, she published her very first book, called Rohen.
In 1919, she married Keizo Muraoka. They had a son in 1920. Keizo owned a printing company. Sadly, his company went out of business in 1926. This happened after the big Great Kanto Earthquake in 1923. The family restarted the company from their home.
Soon after this, Muraoka's son died. This made her very sad and depressed. Her friend, Hiroko Katayama, helped her. Katayama suggested that Muraoka translate The Prince and the Pauper by Mark Twain. This work helped Muraoka feel better and get back to her regular life.
The "Radio Auntie"
In 1932, Hanako Muraoka started a radio show. On the show, she read the news to children. Her show became very popular across Japan. Children everywhere started calling her the "Rajio no Obasan," which means "Radio Auntie."
The radio show ended in the early 1940s. This was when World War II began. Muraoka did not want to read news that called Canadians the enemy. Many of her friends were Canadian, and she felt it was wrong.
Translating Anne of Green Gables
In 1939, a friend named Loretta Leonard Shaw gave Muraoka a special book. It was Anne of Green Gables. Muraoka worked on translating this book during World War II.
The translated book was finally published in 1952. It quickly became a huge bestseller in Japan. In the 1970s, Anne of Green Gables even became part of the Japanese school curriculum. This meant many students read it in school. Some people later said that Muraoka had left out some parts of the book in her translation.
In 1968, Muraoka planned a trip to Prince Edward Island. This is the place where Anne of Green Gables is set. However, she passed away before she could make the trip. She died from a stroke on October 25, 1968.
In 2014, a television drama called Hanako to Anne was shown. It was based on a book about her life. Her granddaughter, Eri Muraoka, wrote the book called An no Yurikago Muraoka Hanako no Shogai.
Hanako Muraoka's Translated Works
Hanako Muraoka translated many famous books into Japanese. Here are some of them:
- Mark Twain's The Prince and the Pauper (1927)
- Eleanor H. Porter's Pollyanna (1930)
- Harriet Beecher Stowe's Uncle Tom's Cabin (1948)
- Emma Orczy's The Scarlet Pimpernel (1950)
- Oscar Wilde's The Happy Prince (1951)
- Jean Webster's Daddy-Long-Legs (1951)
- L.M. Montgomery's Anne of Green Gables (1952) (She also translated the sequels from 1954-1959)
- Marie Louise de la Ramée's A Dog of Flanders (1952)
- Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (1952)
- Frances Hodgson Burnett's A Little Princess (1954)
- Frances Hodgson Burnett's The Secret Garden (1955)
- Charles Kingsley's The Water-Babies, A Fairy Tale for a Land Baby (1956)
- Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings's The Yearling (1958)
- Mark Twain's Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (1959)
- L.M. Montgomery's Jane of Lantern Hill (1960)
- L.M. Montgomery's Emily's Quest (1969)
See also
In Spanish: Hanako Muraoka para niños
